Police identify alleged Atascadero bank robbers

April 21, 2014

Atascadero police have identified the man and woman arrested for robbing Chase Bank on Thursday as George Jesie Gonzalez, of Santa Maria, and Tonya Michelle Young, of Paso Robles.

Around 5:20 p.m. Thursday, a man walked into the Chase Bank in the 8000 block of El Camino Real in Atascadero, told a teller he had a gun and ran away after taking cash. Witnesses described the robber as a Hispanic man with white makeup on his face and said he fled in a green vehicle.

Minutes after the robbery, Atascadero police stopped a vehicle matching the description. Offices arrested Young, 33, who was driving the car. Gonzalez, 55, then hid in the trunk for about 45 minutes until surrendering to police.

Officers booked both Gonzalez and Young in San Luis Obispso County Jail for robbery.

Police in San Luis Obispo County are now working with the FBI to determine if the suspects arrested Thursday are also responsible for recent bank robberies in Pismo Beach and Arroyo Grande.